Citing multiple instances where Musk had failed to respond to opportunities to testify on the $44 billion Twitter deal, the regulator implied in the court action that it was only exercising the notice given to his counsel "that among other things, we may seek sanctions against Mr Musk."
At the core of the filing is the decision by Musk to inform authorities that he would not be appearing for a September 10 testimony just three hours prior. Reports indicate that Musk had been present that day in Florida to oversee the launch of the SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission.
The SEC wants to query Musk to determine if he broke any federal securities laws when he bought Twitter in 2022 and rebranded it X.
Musk has accused the SEC of trying to "harass" him through unwarranted investigations. Additionally, his lawyers have said sanctions action would be "drastic" and unnecessary against their client.